Summary from goodreads:
Henry Graves has dedicated his life to the prison service, but he is unprepared for the challenge his new and secret assignment brings. Tasked with managing a government facility hidden deep in the countryside, Henry finds himself tested as never before: by the confused and frightened prisoners, by the sinister Dr Silk and, above all, by his conscience. Tom Clarke, a precocious but naive journalist, has his own problems meanwhile. His career – and his life – is turned upside down by the arrival of Julia Priestley, who seeks his help in finding her estranged husband, Arthur, an innocent dentist who has been arrested under severe new anti-terrorism legislation. The authorities admit they have taken him but will not say where he is being held – or why. Discovering a trail that implicates those at the very top of government, Tom and Julia begin a quest to find Arthur, and the truth about his incarceration. But some people will stop at nothing to keep the facility’s secret hidden, and soon the couple find themselves fighting for their lives…
The Facility by Simon Lelic
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I have to admit that this book is not my normal kind of book to read. Probably if I had not already agreed to read and review it, I may not have finished it. But in many ways, I am glad I persevered. The story was very realistic, and perhaps the romantic in me did not like that. But I did find that at the end, I actually cared about the people involved and even wished things might have been different for them.
I will warn you right off the bat. The language of the book is realistic, and profanity is rampant. I could have done without that, for it is what intially turned me off. There are homosexual issues as well, and there is even a semi-homosexual scene within it but without too much detail. Do not read this if either of these greatly offend you.
I think the most intriguing thing about this read was to realize that this could happen even in this day and age. Imagine people being shut away in a prison because of their lifestyle and a disease they may or may not have. And the government cover-up was also intriguing if not embarrassing. It makes not difference that the setting was England. This could happen anywhere–even in our precious U.S.A.
I cannot say I like the ending–I will not spoil it for anyone–but I know this is realistic fiction. I also was not sure about the author’s use of the present tense within the narrative, but after about page 100, I got over that. I will say that author weaves a different kind of story than I have ever read before, and I am glad that I read it, if for no other reason, than it makes me think!
Please come back to my blog on the 18th of this month for a virtual blog tour and special post by the author of this book, Simon Letic. Thanks!
